'I want to retain a large degree of artistic control' ... Sway won best hip-hop act at the Mobos. Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty

An unsigned rapper who sells his home-made tapes on the street emerged as the unlikely star of the 10th annual Mobo awards last night. Hailing from Hornsey, north London, 23-year-old Sway Dasafo triumphed over industry heavyweights 50 Cent and The Game to win the award for best hip-hop act.

"In the commercial world I wouldn't stand a chance against someone like 50 Cent," he told the Guardian. "But this shows that the work stands up and that it's reaching the people that matter."

Sway (real name Derek Andrew Safo) honed his craft on pirate radio and credits the BBC's black music station 1xtra with providing him with his first break back in 2002.

In the course of his brief, DIY career, he has attracted plaudits for a witty, complex rapping style that contrasts with the violent imagery of some of his counterparts. "I'm a positive person. The positivity comes out in my music," he said. "I don't go round holding guns to people's heads so I won't rap about holding guns to people's heads."

Sway distributes his mixtapes at markets and independent record shops and has so far resisted the temptation to sign to a major label. "I want to build up my own name first," he explained. "I need to prove I can be artistically independent." So far the tactic seems to be working. Sales of the mixtapes run in the thousands and he is currently putting the finishing touches to his debut album.

The night's other big winner was Lemar, the former Fame Academy finalist who graduated to the major league with awards for album of the year and UK act of the year. London-born Kano, a pioneer of Britain's emerging "grime music" scene, was named best UK newcomer, while US singer-songwriter John Legend won best R&B act.

After the controversy surrounding the 2004 awards, which were criticised for snubbing UK talent and providing a platform for the allegedly homophobic stylings of dancehall reggae acts Vybz Cartel and Elephant Man, this year's event steered a much safer course.

"I think these awards show a more patriotic movement towards British artists," said Mobo founder Kanya King. "And that movement is reflected across the board. You can see it everywhere from the success of the grime scene to the arrival of artists like Sway, who are not funded by major labels. But it is also encouraging to see Lemar win two awards. He was on Fame Academy and he's obviously not a controversial figure. And yet it's sometimes easy for artists like that to get overlooked."

But the 2005 Music of Black Origin awards looked to the past as well as the present. Last night's event at the Royal Albert Hall included a lengthy tribute to soul legend Luther Vandross, who died in July, and a posthumous lifetime achievement honour for Bob Marley, who would have turned 60 this year. Public Enemy, once the angry young rabble-rousers of the 1980s rap scene, even found themselves cast in the role of revered elder statesmen. The group were in London to collect an award for outstanding contribution to black music.